Highlanders, now's the time to plan your garden!
Our gardening is different up here in the Highlands than in the rest of the state. Our weather patterns are more extreme. Our springs are a bit colder, our summers a bit cooler, and our autumn shorter. We can see this on the new weather maps on TV. They give us a low-angled view of the region as if we were on planes flying north along the coast from the Carolinas. In full color relief, the coastal areas of New Jersey look flat and green, and build to a soft rolling tan to the jagged russet of the Jersey Highlands in the Northwest. That explains it all. Our stripes of mountains are a flank of the Appalachians.

The good news is we don't get Adirondack winters.

The bad news is our Spring weather more closely resembles Burlington, Vermont's than Burlington, New Jersey's.

So what to do in the winter when there's no spring in sight, and no winter thaw when you can wander in the garden and watch the earliest tulip tips emerge?
Well-intentioned Highlanders,Plan Your Garden!

This is prime time to dream, to scan catalogues and websites, and to plan from these dreams a very practical chart of what to do and when to get started.
Which, of course, is today. So arm yourself with catalogues, paper, pencil AND A CALENDAR:
What do you have to do?
Create a realistic plan that won't break your back or your budget and will give you flowers to make a real smile appear on your face.
Start drawing:
  • sketch a map of your house and your yard, make it big enough to make notes on. Draw where the sun is, where the shade is.
    Note when the sun passes over one side of the yard to another, and how deep the shade is in beds that get only partial sunlight.
  • Draw a line from flower beds to the outdoor faucets. Measure amt. of hose needed.
  • Figure the square footage of flower beds and write in the number in each area; add the total in the margin
  • TIP: make flower beds large enough to handle a mass of flowers. Starting plants from seeds means you’ll have many more plants to set out – think of setting out plants in clumps or diamond shaped areas, not lines. Pinpoint plant areas once you’ve decided what to grow.
  • Flower beds should be easy to walk in. Three to four feet widths are adequate to provide for plants and feet.
  • Start scanning the mags and catalogues. 15 minutes, tops.

Start writing:
  • List flowers you like for sunny spots
  • List flowers and foliage plants for the shade
  • Decide if you have the space, time, and light to start seeds indoors
  • List seeds that you will start early, and
  • MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW :
    LAST FROST DATE HERE IS MAY 31. Mark 6 8 and 10 weeks back from that: that is when you must start indoor seeds
    APRIL - PLANT INDOORS
    MAY - PLANT OUTDOORS

There are many garden ideas to incorporate, either singly as an overriding theme, or for accent: Color, height, fragrance, flower form, foliage color and texture.
Jot down what impresses you. If the plants are not available or won’t grow under the conditions at your house, plan substitutes to achieve a similar effect. There are so many underused plants, try one or two. Make a spot for Johnny jump-ups, for instance, where you might grow impatiens.
Garden Tools
Planting Equipment

In March you will need to check your supplies!

  • Soil - seed-starting and soilless mixes are available from supermarkets to garden centers.
  • Pots - plastic peat, make sure you have enough.
  • Covers - plastic wrap or bags - monitor the plants enough to prevent overly moist conditions from developing - note that condensation on the cover material does not indicate the plants are sufficiently moist
  • Waterproof catch saucers - you must have a method for watering the plants.
  • Space - you should have enough light and heat to keep plants from getting leggy. Most importantly, it needs to be waterproof.
  • Wooden, metal or plastic sticks for plant labelling – and a permanent marker
  • Trowels, shovels, dibbles. And rakes.
  • Fluorescent lights
  • Heating mats if you don't have a constant source of heat
  • Gloves
  • Knee pads

  • MARK THIS DATE: Mark when you will buy compost, bulk soil from nearest local supplier - no later than early May. Put down the amounts you will need.
  • Make and mark a date to work in your garden. KEEP THAT DATE.
  • Remember practical garden dates for working the soil - when it's not too wet and doesn't form a solid clump in your hand - start looking about MARCH 17 onwards. Well, depending on snow and previous thaws, this is a very fluid date.
  • When soil is turned over in the bed, nice and loose, because you've added compost and soil, plant the earliest crops of flowers: Pansies, Poppies, Forget-me-nots

     

    A little planning -- It's worth the effort and it's really fun.
    Tips: remember to check the views from inside the house to your garden, and from the street.
    Taking a step back from the garden will help you see the larger picture, and give you a chance to unite various parts of the garden by repeating form, plants and colors.


Liz Toner designs and grows gardens in northern NJ.
Her company, American Gardens, specializes in shade gardens and incorporating native plants in difficult sites.
She is a graduate of the Landscape Architecture department, Cook College of Agriculture and Environmental Science.
Questions about your garden? Email Liz